Almost Grain Free Diet Day 30: Looks Like Potatoes, Tastes Like… Carrots?!

We were out and about tending to errands most of yesterday. We wanted to grab a bite to eat, but trying to eat grain/legume-free in a restaurant is hard without pre-planning. Salads are usually safe. So, I thought Charlie Brown’s Steak House would be a good choice being they have an enormous salad bar. I didn’t eat breakfast, so hunger kicked in with a vengeance by the time we got to lunch. I ordered the 7oz filet mignon, a loaded baked potato, AND salad bar. I made a mile-high plate of salad with almost all the veggies they had available, chopped hard boiled egg, and cheese. I know they don’t guarantee that all of their items are gluten-free, much less grain-free, due to cross-contamination, but I still loaded my plate. If their Swiss cheese contains grains, they shouldn’t call it cheese anymore, lol. I’m not being fussy about it right now, if I accidentally had trace amounts of grains, I’ll accept that. I’m pretty sure the salad I built was clear of them, though.

I ate all of my steak, half of the inside of my baked potato, and my whole plate of salad stacked to the ceiling. Yeah, I was starving, lol. Obviously, I steered clear of their raisin bread. It was a great lunch, though. We’ll definitely eat there again, it’s perfect for fresh, wholesome choices. Salad bars are awesome. VIVA LA VEGGIES!

Earlier that morning, I put a pork tenderloin in the crock pot to slow cook for dinner. Our lunch kept me full for upwards of 6 hours, so I’m glad dinner was going to take awhile to cook, lol.

I bought some parsnips the other day and planned to use them for mashed parsnips. In their raw state, they look like this:

They look like white carrots, right? Well, when you boil and mash them, they look just like mashed potatoes, but taste like carrots. It’s wild.

Garlic Apricot Pulled Pork with Baked Apple and Mashed Parsnips

Macintosh apple baked with butter + cinnamon

They look just like mashed potatoes, right?! Same texture, too. But looks and feels are deceiving: they taste sweet, like carrots!

• Crock pot-cooked pork tenderloin with apricot fruit spread and garlic
• Boiled and mashed parsnips with butter, milk, light salt, garlic powder, and chives
• Macintosh apple baked with butter and cinnamon

The pork tenderloin couldn’t have been easier to prepare. I just put the whole tenderloin in the crock pot, sprinkled it with a little bit of garlic salt, added a few tablespoons of water, several dollops of Polaner apricot 100% fruit spread, and 6 sliced garlic cloves. Then, I let it cook for about 10 hours on low. When the meat was thoroughly cooked and tender, I easily pulled it apart with a fork. That’s it. So simple, right?

We couldn’t locate our apple corer last night, so we gutted them with a knife, lol. Worked like a charm! Everything was delicious. Dustin crinkled up his nose when he tasted the parsnips; he didn’t want any part of them, lol. I had a small scoop of them. I couldn’t get past the fact that they tasted like carrots. I think I’d prefer these roasted instead of mashed. If you really like the flavor of carrots, these are a great lower carb substitute. I hear they also make really delicious soup. I’m not giving up on them, though. I’ll try as many preparation methods as it takes to love them.

We’re going to NYC tomorrow, so I have lots of stuff to do today. I can’t wait!!

ONE MORE DAY TO GO ON THE GRAIN-FREE DIET!!!

Tagged as: almost grain free diet, apples, Charlie Brown's Steak House, crock pot recipes, gluten free recipes, parsnips, pork, restaurants, salad bars, salads, steak, veggies